News of: Monday, 26th of January, 2009

Front Page

President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday termed the new Jatiya Sangsad a "parliament for change" and said poverty alleviation, elimination of corruption and terrorism, trial of war criminals and establishment of good governance would be the main objectives of the newly elected government.

The government yesterday brought major changes in the civil administration, promoting seven officers to the rank of secretary and making one secretary and two additional secretaries the officer-on-special-duty (OSD).

Many unscrupulous traders capitalising on the current crisis of textbooks for secondary school students are marketing pirated books in substandard newsprints in a bid to make brisk business much to the chagrin of students and parents.

Despite obtaining country's citizenship, the Urdu-speaking Bihari are still being deprived of getting Bangladeshi passport as copy of the High Court (HC) verdict is yet to reach the home ministry even after eight months of the ruling.

A team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-1) personnel yesterday arrested six female muggers from different parts of the city and two members of an “Agyan Party” (robbers stealing from people by drugging) from Paltan.

Pakistan urged President Barack Obama to halt US missile strikes on al-Qaeda strongholds near the Afghan border, saying Saturday that civilians were killed the previous day in the first attacks since Obama's inauguration.

Editorial

THE ninth national Parliament has got off to an encouraging start. A new Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been elected by the lawmakers. At the same time, the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition have taken their places in the House. The country, therefore, can now look forward to a productive first session of the new Parliament, one that is expected to set the right tone and tenor for the future of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh.

IT is disconcerting news that about 200 teachers of Dhaka University (DU) left their students sitting in the classrooms for hours as they scrambled for paying compliments to the newly elected Pro-Vice Chancellor and Treasurer in the Registrar building on Saturday. Teachers queued up with flower bouquets to congratulate the two senior officials who took office that day on being appointed by the new government. The angst of the students can be well understood since many of them had come from peripheral townships to attend classes. They are reported to have complained aloud that no notice was served earlier about teachers having to attend such an 'unofficial' programme of greeting. Indeed it was a glaring act of irresponsibility on the part of the teachers of the prime educational institution of the country which must adhere to a strict routine to break out of the sessions jam cycle. The teachers could have assembled after class hours to go and congratulate the newly appointed colleagues.

THE new Al-Led dispensation has set off with a jerky start amid a spurt of dismal events on several fronts. It may be recalled that soon after AL's assumption of power in 1996, turbulences erupted across the country. As then, so also now, the government refrained from putting up a conspiracy theory, not even a veiled one, thus showing signs of maturity.

FOREIGN policy is not made in a day. The smiles in Delhi when President Obama cautioned Pakistan that non-military aid would be cut if it did not curb domestic terrorism were premature. It is military aid to Islamabad which should be of concern to Delhi, but the government has become so dependent on the US that it gets pleased with very little. An inaugural speech can only have markers that will be fleshed into policy. But amateurs in Delhi have rushed to judgment where professionals fear to tread.

IT is not that much, but nevertheless it is a sign of growth of a decent and sophisticated political culture in the country, that BNP has decided to join the inaugural session of the ninth parliament on January 25.

Australia must win on their national holiday on Monday to keep the five-match series alive following another nerveless chase from South Africa in the third game in Sydney on Friday night. Apart from the 2-1 disadvantage, the most troubling thing for the hosts is that they don't feel safe with any total. South Africa have been stunning during their pursuits of 271 in Melbourne and 269 at the SCG, and the only time they fell short was in the five-run defeat in Hobart.

Eleven players moved into the second round of the Runner Group Open Tennis tournament winning their respective first round matches in the men's singles event at the Ramna National Tennis Complex yesterday.

Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, will test his knee during Auckland's State Shield game against Central Districts on January 25 before leaving for Australia two days later for the five-match Chappell-Hadlee Series. Mills decided to skip domestic games in the past two weeks to rest his right knee, but believes the niggle will not prevent him from leading the attack against Australia.

Grand Master Niaz Murshed shared points with the highest rated player GM Alexander Areshchenko of Ukraine in the fifth round of the First Gurgaon Open international chess tournament in Haryana yesterday.

On the eve of the Indian cricket team's departure for Sri Lanka for a one-day series, dashing opener Virender Sehwag has sought to put the rivals on the backfoot, saying he had done his homework against mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and would not hesitate to attack him.

Juventus went level on points with Inter Milan at the top of Serie A for the first time this season as a Claudio Marchisio goal gave them a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fiorentina at Turin's Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

With the journey of the new government amid people's expectation for easing their economic and social woes, the business community's demand is a business-friendly environment, said the Bangladesh chapter of International Chamber of Commerce in the editorial of its quarterly News Bulletin released yesterday.

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan yesterday sought cooperation from US Ambassador in Dhaka James F Moriarty in passage of a bill in US Congress that will allow Bangladeshi products to get duty- and quota-free access to the US market.

Momena lost everything in the 1998 floods and then came to Dhaka in search for a livelihood. Now she lives here in a slum, struggling to make ends meet and dating with the high cost of living. She says if her home in the village did not go under water, she would live in Faridpur now.

There is no joy among workers at Dell's factory here over the global computer giant's decision to shift production from Ireland to Poland but as the economic crisis bites they are relieved their jobs are safe.

A top Chrysler LLC executive says the automaker should be viable by springtime because of its restructuring, introduction of new and improved vehicles, and higher sales due to loosened credit and sweetened incentives for buyers.

Japan's largest brokerage Nomura Holdings is forecast to report a net loss of some 300 billion yen (3.4 billion dollars) for the October-December quarter, its worst in eight years, a report said Sunday.

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela pledged Saturday to invest $100 million each in a special fund in hopes of boosting cross-border trade as the world economic crisis slashes global demand for their exports.

Chairmen and vice chairmen candidates, who boycotted the January 22 upazila election from Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj-2 constituency, yesterday demanded its immediate cancellation, alleging that it a massively rigged election.

Health and Family Welfare Minister AFM Ruhal Haque yesterday urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to extend its support to the developing countries to reduce maternal and reproductive health-related deaths.

People from all walks of life took to the streets in observance of 'Palestine Solidarity Day' yesterday with a call for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state and trial of Israeli forces for their war crimes in Gaza.

Vice-chancellor of Brac University Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury yesterday called for forming a national advisory council where an expert team will work on disaster management and provide technical support to the government whenever it needs.

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty yesterday said India is determined to work with Bangladesh to address terrorism, a major threat to peace and stability, and further strengthen friendship and widen the scope of cooperation.

United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) has proved their popularity in Thursday's upazila election as they have won posts of upazila chairman in three out of seven upazilas in hill district Khagrachhari.

Eight people, including a primary school teacher and a VDP commander, were abducted allegedly by the members of Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA) from Waingranpara and Bangchhari areas in Roangchhari upazila of the district early yesterday.

Thirty-nine out of 87 candidates who contested for chairmanship and vice- chairmanship in seven upazilas have lost their security deposits for failure to secure required one-eighth of votes during upazila (UZ) elections, district election office sources said.

Letters

Congratulations Shakib Al Hasan for the laurels you brought for the country. You are the only glimmer of hope of this time of frustration borne by the cricket team. You are the only one who relentlessly fit the bill when the others time & again disappoint us.

I would like to congratulate through DS Jananetri PM Sheikh Hasina for wisely taking the responsibility of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs ( supposed to be responsible for the development of 66% of the population of Bangladesh-- women and children). Expectations are high that Sheikh Hasina's leadership in the Women and Children Affairs Ministry will be good for women and children.

After the new government had taken office, its student wing went berserk in some high seats of learning. They are resorting to violent means to intimidate the students who follow other ideologies. Chase and counter case, indecent slogans, violent clashes --all these have become common phenomena in some of our public universities and colleges. Needless to say, it is the common students who have to bear the brunt of this spate of violence on campus.

Almost every day a very eye catching , ornamental advertisement appears in the daily newspapers on the Jamuna Future Park, that strikes my mind. Do we really need such a large supermarket and amusement park in our country?

I fully appreciate the DS editorial of 12 Jan under the caption "Demonstrate Zero Tolerance to Vandalism". In fact, this culture of vandalism by students started in our country since our independence. This culture took the present shape in course of time. Initially, some fortune seekers, especially the political leaders, trade union leaders, group leaders of teachers of different ideologies of politics in universities and colleges down to the school levels used the students as their mini-musclemen for their personal or small collective gains.

We the students of session 2003-2004 of Dhaka University would like to request the respective departments of our university to publish our graduation results as early as possible to enable us to appear in the 29th BCS exams. It is a golden opportunity for us that we have got the circulation of BCS. We are enthusiastic enough to participate in this competitive exam. But we are still not sure whether our results will be published before March 2009.

While many consider George W. Bush a very bad US president, the point is highly debatable. George W. Bush's position in history is not different from that of Robert Clive in British history. I have met many English men and women but hardly any one of them spoke unkindly about Robert Clive's activities in Bengal in 1757 and afterwards. Like Robert Clive, George Bush was an empire builder. As a shrewd politician he created facts intelligently and mobilized American people behind him to occupy Iraq. Now the long term presence of the US in Iraq in order to exploit its vast oil resources is a fact that nobody can deny. Like Robert Clive, he has set up stooges who pay lip service to the Iraqi national question while serving wholeheartedly their US masters. Without Bush, this interest of the US big business could not have been achieved. Only a little over 4,000 US soldiers had died during the last six and a half years in Iraq. More people die of car accidents in the US per year. Under certain circumstances, democracy has to be established through the barrels of gun. Bush realized it and had successfully implemented democracy in Iraq, even at the expense of more than one million Iraqi lives.

The national election 2008 was a great challenge to the EC and we the Bangladeshi people have seen how they completed their task successfully. According to local and international election observers, it was the fairest election in the history of Bangladesh.

This is in response to the letters of Rafiqul Islam and Mahboob Hossain on this topic. I agree with the first point of Mr. Rafiq that Israel has no right to be in the Middle-East at the first place, but strongly disagree with his second view. He said that Hamas is to be blamed for the bloodshed taking place in Gaza. But I don't agree with you. As mentioned by Mr. Mahboob Hossain, no economic activities took place in Gaza during the six-month ceasefire period with Israel. According to the ceasefire conditions, Israel was supposed to gradually ease the blockade to which they had subjected the Gazans since June 2007. But they didn't do that and so Hamas had no option but to fire rockets at Israel to press home their demands. So Hamas isn't to be blamed for this bloodshed.

Everybody is all praise for the youthful cabinet that the new prime minister, Sheikh Hasina has presented. We also praise her for her courage, swiftness and worldliness. She has not turned into a Devi aloft beyond the common people. Her respect shown to Zillur Rahman, the elderly politician, is remarkable.

US President Barack Obama did not waste a moment after the oath taking ceremony and he got down to work immediately. Faithful to his election pledges he has turned the page of the black chapter of G.W. Bush and started a new one. Obama ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and banned the practice of torture in terror interrogations.

It was anticipated that Israel would declare a unilateral ceasefire so that Hamas would not be bound to stop launching rockets into Israel. It was anticipated that both Israel and Hamas would be the winner as it has happened. For moderate forces to overcome extremist forces, the moderates must be able to provide their population with what they most need. In the Palestine case, the end of Israel's siege of the Gaza strip and its occupation and colonising of the remaining Palestinian territories (West Bank) is the most needed thing.

Once again the tainted face of our student politics is revealed with its true colour and this time it appears as post election violence in different universities. Student politics in the last two decades hardly relates to well being of mass people. It mostly stands out only to articulate how to prevail over opponents by any means driven by hatred and vengeance.

Pakistan formally took control Sunday of the main operational facility of a charity allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks, underscoring its ongoing effort to ease international pressure over militancy on its soil.

President Barack Obama's pledge of bipartisan cooperation with Congress will be tested as he tries to fulfil a campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay and establish a new system for prosecuting suspected terrorists.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery to overcome multiple blockages to his heart, is doing fine, has been taken off the ventilator and put on liquid diet, doctors attending to him said on Sunday.

The BBC yesterday faced more pressure to broadcast a charity appeal for funds for people in Gaza, as the Archbishop of Canterbury joined the row and more than 50 lawmakers signed a motion condemning the move.

Arts & Entertainment

Amidst much enthusiasm and presence of hundreds of children, the 2nd International Children's Film Festival '09 opened at the Central Public Library premises on January 24. Eminent educationist Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed inaugurated the festival. Children's Film Society Bangladesh (CFSB) has arranged the festival in association with Unicef. This year's festival features 156 films from 40 countries.

Central theatre department of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi staged its latest production "Half Akhrai" at the Experimental Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpkala academy on January 24. Based on the historic conflict between Ramnidhi Gupta -- popularly known as 'Nidhu Gupta', the originator of Bengali 'tappa' songs -- and his once-favourite disciple Mohan Chand, the play is written by Ratan Siddiqui and directed by Azad Abul Kalam.

To commemorate the 106th birth anniversary of 'Polli-kobi' Jasimuddin a fortnight-long fair -- 'Jasim Polli Mela' -- began yesterday at Govindapur village in Faridpur amidst much enthusiasm. A lively cultural programme was part of the inaugural session.

"Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire" claimed three prizes on Saturday including best drama by the jury and audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, putting it on 2009's must-see list for independent film fans.

Former adviser to the last caretaker government, Rasheda K Chowdhury, will be present as guest on "Aparajita", a live talk show on abc radio today. The programme will be aired from 12:20 pm to 3 pm. The former adviser will share her experiences with the audience on the show. The audience can participate through SMS during the show.

Yesterday more than half a billion people in China were expected to watch the annual Chinese Lunar New Year gala. Organised by the state-owned China Central Television, the marathon event showcases the country's musical diversity with an extensive line-up of Chinese pop stars performing hit songs. But one genre audiences are unlikely to see is Chinese hip-hop, despite its growing popularity among the country's urban youth.

The ninth episode of “Women in politics and good governance” will be aired today at 6:20 pm. This episode focuses on the role of women councillors in the city corporation. Among the questions raised are whether they are able to perform their duties, whether they face any obstacle from male partners, the nature of these obstacles and their role in an executive committee.

OP-ED

AS the classroom is the focus of concern of PEDP II, our purpose is: first, to explain the relevance of organising the classroom around what children are like and how they learn; and second, indicate what needs changing and how.

SMALL is not only beautiful but also manageable. Starting with a small cabinet is undoubtedly a good beginning. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken the right course in keeping with the idea of downsizing government. It is a clean cabinet with a host of new faces, devoid of any misdemeanor.